In October 1972 a digger operator, Raycho Marinov, working near Lake Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, struck gold. The cemetery, dating from about 4600 to 4200 BC, held nearly 300 graves and over 3,000 gold objects weighing six kilograms, including beads, bracelets, and appliques, as well as copper, flint and shell items. In one grave, a man lay with a golden sceptre and a gold-covered penis sheath. It is the oldest worked gold known in the world, and proves that a society with marked wealth differences and long-distance trade existed in south-eastern Europe 6,500 years ago.
Before and after
- 1972Establishment of Taï National Park
- 1972Discovery of Lloyds Bank coprolite
- 1972Establishment of Kluane National Park and Reserve
- 1972The Mawangdui tombs are excavated
- 1972The Varna gold treasure is found
- 30 January 1972Bloody Sunday
- 1 February 1972Birth of Leymah Roberta Gbowee
- 29 February 1972Birth of Pedro Sánchez
- 3 March 1972Launch of Pioneer 10
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 1945Discovery of Nag Hammadi library
- 1945Allied-occupied Germany
- from 23 May 1949 to 3 October 1990West Germany
- 1952Michael Ventris deciphers Linear B
- from 26 October 1955 to 30 April 1975South Vietnam
- from 2003 to 2006Serbia and Montenegro
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.
